A Rest Day in Manado, Hindsight is 20/20 in Sulawesi

January 19th, 2009 Sheila Simkin

The last day in Sulawesi with time to walk around and reflect. Of course, today was gorgeous and sunny. Too bad there wasn’t another opportunity to hike up Mount Mahawu. Ah well… Walked into a bakery (move over Dunkin Donuts)…View image… and total strangers invited us to sit down with them for a while. Visited a nice-sized supermarket (always walk through local stores to see how the people really live) and again had trouble walking out when more people wanted to know what country we came from, shake hands, what’s my name, etc..

Lunch with Jeremy and his friends at a wonderful restaurant, Raja Sate BBQ & Asian Resto, JL Pierre Tendean Boulevard No. 39, Manado. Very yummy sate, including goat sate. Delicious and wouldn’t have known what it was if Jeremy didn’t tell me. Got to try a shrimp in curry and coconut milk concoction called Udang Masak Woku. Also, yummy and don’t miss Raja Sate when you get to Manado. The absolute best meal we had in two weeks excluding that great noodle dish and the fried sweet potato chips.

lunch at Raja Sate in Manado, Sulawesi

Manado bakery, Sulawesi

Manado grocery store in Sulawesi

Did you know that:

– Sulawsi is a country of smiling, friendly people who can’t wait to welcome you and, have their pictures taken? …View image…

– Part of Sulawesi’s culture will eat anything that walks, flies or crawls. Not appetizing to my Western sensitivity but that’s life….View image…

– Sulawesi is extremely diverse with an incredible amount of things to do. Dive, snorkel, trek, go rafting, drive through the country or just park your body on one of Indonesia’s more than 15,000 islands and vegetate. …View image…

A few unforgettable images of Sulawesi…

the adorable Tarsier Spectrum in Tangkoko Scenic Reserve, Sulawesi

Torajan rice barn, Sulawesi, Indonesia

the beyond belief effigies of Toraja in Sulawesi, Indonesia

Watch the video below, “Should You Visit Sulawesi” for complete details. ex-Marine and I give it a definite “thumbs up.” It knocked our socks off. Well, since we wore sandals all the time, it knocked our Tevas off. Visit.